Volunteer of the Month
Archives

July 2019
Charles Roberts

Photo of Charles Roberts

This month we’d like to give thanks to a familiar face, but one you might not know of in relation to the Highland Senior Center. Charles Roberts is the former editor of the Highland Community News, where he was a big supporter of the Highland Senior Center and would often visit the center to cover our events and activities. However when he retired at the end of 2017, he continued to support our center, but in a different capacity. Before retiring, he asked Jeff, the Outreach Director if we could use some volunteers, as he did not want to become bored. Well, he asked the right person, as he was immediately made a Transportation Assistance Program (TAP) driver. He volunteers to drive just about every weekday, and sometimes on weekends as well. Yet his helping us out doesn’t stop there. He also helps out in our Food Program, three days a weeks. He sorts outs the food we bring in and then helps us to pass it out to our seniors. We would also like to thank his wife, Myrna, who gives him time off from his retirement Honey Do list to help us out.

Featured Class

Sketching
Date: January 16, 2019
Time: 8:30 - 10:00 am
Length: 8 weeks
Cost: $8 members
      $8 non-members
Instructor: Robert Placencia
Location: Game Room
Description: Are you a doodler? Or maybe you're a bit sketchy. For our Sketching Class you're perfect. The class is taught by Robert Placencia. He took classes in college, and used to assist in his oil painting class. Although his media is more in oil paintings, sketching is a big part of that so it's a perfect fit. He has been teaching the class for nearly 3+ years now. Robert has been involved in art for over 40 years, having taken art classes in high school and college. He enjoys many mediums including sketching, charcoal, and oil painting. He has even received awards for some of his works. The class will begin with portraits, as it provides the basic foundation that can later be applied to still life and scenery. Students need to bring their own pencils (4H to 6B preferred), a sharpener, as well as a sketch pad. Do not bring writing paper. The size of the sketchpad will depend upon a students personal preference although Robert prefers the large size. The Sketching class will be on Wednesdays, in the Gameroom, and will run for 8 weeks. Cost is $8.

Featured Activity

Knitting
Time: Fridays 10am - 12pm
Cost: Free members
      Free non-members
Location: Parlor
Description: Knitting has been has been around (depending on who you ask) for between 2000 to 600 years. The oldest real knitting (formed on two sticks by pulling loops through loops) object that have been discovered are the \'Coptic socks\' from Egypt, dating to around the year 1000 AD. The term 'to knit,' according to the Oxford Unabridged English Dictionary, wasn't added to the English language until the 1400s. Our knitting group is headed by Keiko Holcombe. When Keiko joined the center ten years ago, she almost immediately began teaching others to knit. She has been knitting since she was six years old, and has been teaching here in the states for over 39 years. That's not counting the years she taught in Japan. The students all work on individual projects, ranging from items as small as booties to items as large as afghans. Keiko helps each student on their projects and teaches skills to class when they are having a problem. The class is small, with about 12-15 students, so 1 on 1 time is guaranteed. If this art form sounds like something you might be interested in, the group meets on Fridays from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Operation Senior Claus 2011
By: Mike Sylva
(Christmas) is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart. ~Washington Irving’s The Sketch Book



For those who have read Washington Irving’s ‘Old Christmas,’ you can appreciate the impact he had on bringing the idyllic English Christmas stateside. He is also credited by Charles Dickens as an influence on his own Christmas writings, including the classic A Christmas Carol. Both works seek to bring back the idea of hospitality. Something we could use in this commercialized Christmas era.

One way you can help with this is to remember that in this “season of giving”, it’s not always the amount of presents, or giving for giving’s sake. It’s giving to make a difference to someone. Presents don’t have to be big or expensive. Sometimes the smallest thing can make the biggest difference in someone’s life. For some seniors it only takes 1 can of food, or $10 gift card to brighten the holidays of a senior this Christmas.

Operation Senior Claus is now coming to the home stretch and we need you to make it a success for us, but also a Merry Christmas for our seniors. We are hoping to help out over 100 seniors this years, but we need your help. We will be preparing Christmas dinners (turkey and all the trimmings), and little gift baskets for some worthy seniors. To do this we are still in need of money donations, gift cards to food markets, as well as hygiene products (i.e. toothbrushes, shampoo).

So please think about helping out those less fortunate and take the words of Ruth Cater Stapleton to heart. “Christmas is most truly Christmas when we celebrate it by giving the light of love to those who need it most.”